The Absence of Light
by Chewnicorn
Summary: The gang is back for their seventh year at Hogwarts, but a new evil is preying on the students. Will the Slytherin King be able to protect his own from the darkness that lurks in the castle?


Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling.

A little background... This story takes place in the trio's seventh year at Hogwarts (but it's as if the fifth and sixth books didn't happen). This is my first fanfic, I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

It had been late when she finally said goodbye to her friends and left the pub that night. The streets had been quiet; the only people around when she left were a small group of young men outside the pub, talking and laughing with each other. She knew she shouldn't be walking alone at this time of night, especially with the events that had taken place that summer, but the pub was so close to her flat that she had declined an escort from her friends when it had been offered to her. She was regretting that decision now, something wasn't right. She picked up her pace, but it was no use.

She felt them, before she heard or saw them. Like a thick blanket thrown on top of her. Muffling her. Suffocating her. The invisible weight paralyzed her, and her heart beat faster as fear raced through her.

It was two weeks before the Hogwarts Express was scheduled to leave for Hogwarts. There had already been three kidnappings that summer, one a month since May. The aurors that were investigating the case had no leads. The only thing the victims had in common were that they were all young females. They knew the kidnappings were tied was because of the strange flowers that had been left at all three crime scenes.

The Departments of Magical Plants and Herbs had informed the aurors that the flowers were called _craceniums,_ known for their long slender, oxblood colored petals that were extremely poisonous. The first young woman had been found laying in her bed at home, with petals strewn around her body. The second, found in a field, with a crown of the same blood red flowers placed atop her head. The third woman was found in a bathtub full of slender petals in a room at the Leaky Cauldron.

A few days later her friends would report her as missing, and Aurors would find a single cracenum petal just inside the door of her flat.

* * *

"And remember, never underestimate a person that has nothing to lose; it might be the last thing you do." The Great Hall was silent as the ominous message filled the great hall and Dumbledore's words sunk in. "Right now! Pip pip and tuck in." Just as quickly as it had come, the dark tone was gone. Dumbledore lowered his arms and moved to his seat at the staff table as chatter filled the room and everyone began to eat their dinner.

"What are all of us Slytherins going to do without the 'Slytherin King' around to protect us in the common room?" Blaise said, smirking at Draco who was sitting next to him. "I still can't believe Dumbledore's made you Head Boy."

"Well," Draco said, eyes scanning the great hall, "believe it. Besides, they've still got the 'Slytherin Prince' there to keep them company." Draco said sarcastically. "Not that you won't be spending most of your time with me in the Head's common room."

Blaise rolled his eyes. They had picked up the nicknames at the beginning of their sixth year. Easily being the two most handsome boys in school, and spending almost all of their free time together, it wasn't surprising that girls talked about them.

"Oh, is that right?" Blaise asked, annoyed that Draco wasn't keeping his full attention at the Slytherin table.

"Don't think for one moment that I'm going to let either of you out of my sight much right now." Draco said as his eyes finally stopped on a certain young woman at the Gryffindor table.

"If you're talking about the attacks," Blaise muttered darkly, "the victims were all women. You don't need to worry about me."

"Just because they've only attacked females so far, does not mean they won't hurt anyone that gets in their way." It was clear from Draco's tone that they weren't going to be talking about this anymore here. "Get all of the Slytherins together in the common room, I'll be by later for the meeting. Until then, I have Head's business to attend to."

Most of the students had finished their dinner and were getting up to go to their respective common rooms. Draco stood up from the table and, with a nod to Blaise, left the Great Hall.

* * *

The Head's common room was breathtaking. Ornate furniture filled the space in front of the large marble fireplace that came roaring to life with a flick of Hermione's wand. Rich hardwood floors were covered with plush rugs, and the colors of all four Hogwarts houses were draped around the room.

Hermione almost squealed when she saw the row of bookshelves lining one side of the room. She ran her hands along the spines, carefully studying each one. As she turned toward the back of the room she saw she saw a grand staircase leading up to a shared balcony where her and the head boy's rooms were located. There was a deep crimson door that she assumed was her room, a dark green door that must have led to Malfoy's room. Hermione quickly forgot the books and made her way up the stairs and to the door on the far left.

The bedroom was just as lavish as the common room. A large king-size four poster bed stood against the far wall and a pair of beautiful french doors led to a balcony. Rich, thick curtains were draped along the frame of the bed, and along all of the windows. Hermione unlocked the balcony doors and stepped out into the night air. It was truly beautiful to see the castle grounds under the moonlight at night. A cool breeze quickly sent her back inside her room to seek the warmth of a relaxing bath.

A door that Hermione assumed led to the bathroom was on the opposite wall. Inside, an expanse of beautiful white marble greeted her. With a wave of her wand the floor was warm beneath her feet. A large tub the size of a small pool filled the center of the room, with taps of all shapes and sizes along one side. With a few turns the bath began filling with light purple water and lavender scented bubbles. Hermione giggled and began unbuttoning her shirt.

* * *

Draco knew something wasn't right the second he stepped into the Head's common room. He scanned the room quickly with his eyes and, when he didn't see anything off, bolted up the stairs. He stepped through Hermione's open door and immediately his breath caught in his throat. The balcony doors were wide open, the wind blowing the curtains in the room. In the center of the open doors lay a single cracenium.

Just as he saw the flower, Hermione stepped into her room, quietly humming to herself. She looked up and gasped loudly when she saw Draco.

"What do you…" Hermione started but stopped as Draco quickly pushed her against the wall, one hand on her mouth, the other gripping her waist. She could feel his strong muscles beneath his white button-down shirt as he pressed up against her.

She followed his gaze and saw the cracenum on the floor. She felt Draco tense even further next to her, and immediately the cracenum burst into flames and the doors slammed closed. A strong energy filled the room, then faded away. Hermione's eyes widened. Wordless magic was one thing, but wandless magic? It took an extremely powerful wizard to successfully execute a spell without a wand.

Draco slowly let her go and began to walk around her room, checking the closet and under the bed, putting up some protective spells. Nothing had been tampered with. As far as he could tell, this had just been to scare Hermione, send a message that the murderers can get into the castle.

Hermione began to tremble, pressed back against the wall. She kept up with the Daily Prophet, who had been covering the murders all summer, and knew what the flower meant. She was sure she had closed the balcony doors, but she must have forgotten to lock them when she rushed to get back in the warmth of her room.

"It's ok, it's safe." Draco said walking towards her. Hermione still couldn't move, her mind racing as she remembered all of the things she read about the other murders. "Granger, I need you to snap out of it." He gently placed his hands on her shoulders. Her golden brown eyes snapped up to meet his icy blue ones. He moved his hands down to grip her hips and slowly moved her back into the bathroom.

"Don't open any doors or windows until I get back." He took a moment to look at her. She was truly beautiful, standing there in nothing but her school skirt and a black bra. Her deep brown hair fell in soft ringlets down her back. He followed the slope of her neck down to her delicate collarbones and even further down to her full breasts, covered in silk. His eyes softened as he took her in. He wouldn't let anything touch her.

"Take your bath and relax, I'll take care of this. Welcome back, Granger." He gave her his trademark smirk and turned on his heel. He had a meeting to run.


End file.
